For one thing, the price was almost completely driven by speculation. That's not a problem in itself, betting on the future of a new technology is something th

For one thing, the price was almost completely driven by speculation. That's not a problem in itself, betting on the future of a new technology is something this site is devoted to. But the excitement got way ahead of the actual adoption in this case, so the price has nothing meaningful supporting it. Bitoin (or more accurately cryptocurrencies in general) are a revolutionary technology that will change the way we do business. But the network isn't there yet. It will be, someday, but someday is down the road. It's not overnight riches, though some were treating it that way. Another factor is that mtgox, the main exchange platform, simply cannot handle large loads. So when there's a panic, it's made much, much worse by Gox's inability to keep up. People can't see what's really happening, and they panic sell at market rates, which just sends the price down further. If Gox were perfect, we'd still see big swings, but they'd probably be a fraction of what they are now. I think (I hope) that the gold rush mentality will be quieted now. Then Bitcoin can grow at a more reasonable rate for a while. It might fail, but we all win if more cryptocurrency infrastructure is figured out and built up.